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Is it worth it to be a translator? “This is an absolutely thankless profession”: young translators on the pros and cons of their work

In this article I will tell you where it is better to study the profession of a translator - in state universities or in courses. Or maybe there are some other options?

I myself graduated from the translation department of NSLU, and then I also created my own courses for translators. So I have a completely objective idea of the pros and cons of both options.

And let's start with the classic option - training as an interpreter in universities.

Training as an interpreter at a state university

I must confess to you honestly - now the profession of an interpreter has changed a lot. Previously, in Soviet times, it was purely military profession. That is why girls were not taken to the translation faculties to study.

That is, there 100% of the students were guys. And now it's the other way around. If you go to any perfak, you will see that 98% of the students there are girls. Now a translator is a person who sits at a computer and translates instructions and legal documents. No romance =)

Another interesting fact for entry - after graduating from the Faculty of Translation, only 5-7% of graduates work as translators. The rest do something - they teach English, open their own business, retrain as dentists.

This happens because the training program at the translation faculties is very outdated. They mostly continue to write translations by hand in notebooks. There are still very old teaching materials.

Disadvantages of public education

When I studied at the perfak, we did technical translation from magazines from the 60s. But these materials were approved "from above", and all training program built on them.

The next disadvantage of formal training is that you are not taught how to work with a computer. Today, a translator simply has to be very good at at least the Word program. But by default, it is believed that today everyone has a computer at home, and everyone can do something in the Word themselves.

But in fact, this is not enough. Creating a document, printing text there is not enough. You need to be able to format the text on the fly, draw up images in translation, and do all this without unnecessary characters, with a clean layout. 100% of graduates do not know how to do this. Because it is a separate professional discipline.

Why 95% of Translation Graduates Can't Find a Job

If returning to educational materials, graduates of translation faculties are very surprised when they find out what a translation assignment actually looks like. They get used to translating texts of 5-10 paragraphs, where everything is written in good English (or whatever?) Language.

And they have 2-3 days to translate this piece of text, so that they can analyze it long and hard in class together with the teacher.

In reality, everything is much tougher.

You are given 10 pages of terrible quality text. There in half of the places it is generally impossible to make out the text. And often there is no text as such. There are some drawings, and inside the drawings there are small icons with which it is not clear what to do.

And the worst thing is the words with which these texts are written. These words are simply not in any dictionary of the world. Or because this is a new industry and the terms arose only yesterday. Or because the author himself invented them. Or sealed up. Or a text was written in English by a person for whom English is not native, and he simply inserted the wrong words, because he does not know the correct ones.

And add here the fact that you only have a day to translate these 10 pages.

This is where 95% of graduates “merge”. Because their life did not prepare them for this. And I should have. And the remaining 5% merge when they find out what pennies they will be paid if they still cope with this text.

Let's be honest with ourselves. At the translation faculties today, unfortunately, they do not prepare for the profession of an interpreter. This is not just a problem for perfs. 95% of graduates across the country work outside their specialty for about the same reasons. But translation has its advantages.

What is actually taught in translation?

Speaking quite frankly, today only foreign languages are taught at the translation faculties. This is not to be taken away. If you enroll in translation, in 3 years you will perfectly learn at least two foreign languages.

I still remember how we passed translation tests. First, we were forbidden to use dictionaries. Which is already strange, because the main skill of a translator is precisely the ability to use dictionaries.

Secondly, we had to translate dozens of terms from memory. Just single words. That is, we were taught not to translate, but to memorize right words. And it gave its results. We have learned a foreign language. But this has nothing to do with the profession of a translator.

Why do people go to public universities

Perhaps you, my dear reader, are now at that tender age when it seems that you have to study at a university in order to get a diploma, and then a job. But here I will disappoint you. A translation diploma will never give you any job.

You will come to get a job as an interpreter - and you will be asked for work experience, not a diploma. In general, after graduation, I got my diploma only two or three times. I needed this in order to be a translator at a notary.

But if I didn’t have a diploma, I could have passed with a school certificate. I tell you this in all seriousness. I personally brought our Ukrainian, Uzbek and other translators to the notary, who had only a school certificate, where it was written that they studied Russian at school. And that was enough for the notary to agree to certify their translator's signature.

All this, of course, is sad, but there are also positive aspects.

"Career" of graduates of translation faculties

One of these moments is that the majority of perf students are not going to work as translators at all =)

As I wrote above, the main contingent at translation faculties today are girls. And they come for translation with a very clear goal - to learn a foreign language, marry a foreigner and go abroad.

And nothing funny, just like this " career ladder” went a lot of girls who studied with me in the same stream.

What are the Words, document formatting and notarized translation of documents. They now work in France as sellers, in America as sellers, again in France as waiters ...

If you are consciously or subconsciously striving for this, then it is better for the translation faculty to come up with nothing. Problems begin if you suddenly, for no reason at all, really want to work as a translator.

Practical training courses for translators

When I just graduated from the Faculty of Translation, I had a problem that I could not translate. Then I learned by working in a translation agency for a penny. After some time, I opened my own translation agency. And then the next problem arose - the translators did not know how to translate.

That is, the same yesterday's graduates came to us to get a job, as I myself was a few years ago. And they made the same mistakes. And one day I got tired of explaining the same thing to every translator.

Then I just took and wrote instructions - how and what to translate, in what situation. Separately, instructions - how to work with the Word, how - with personal documents. And so on.

After that, I could simply give instructions to a new translator, and he immediately, and not three years later, began to work quite sanely.

I was delighted with the first success and began to gradually supplement my instructions. As a result, it grew first to 100 pages, then to 300, and then almost to 1000. And there were analyzed all the translation situations in great detail.

It turned out to be a real course of practical (rather than theoretical) training of a translator. I remember I was still surprised - why no one before me had guessed to do such a course. After all, beginners mastered it literally in 2-3 months, and immediately began to earn “in an adult way”.

Otherwise, they had to find out everything on own experience for several years. And all this time - to live "on bread and water", because no one pays good rates to beginners.

Now I strongly recommend my course to all novice translators, which I called “Work! Translator". You can read more about this course.

Now let's make a small conclusion.

Conclusion

The question of where to study the profession of a translator is not an easy one. The answer depends on what you actually want to get. Learn a foreign language and try to "blame" - you're on a perfak. And if you really want to make money with translations, then you will have to learn this on your own.

And here are two options. The first is to learn by doing while working in a translation agency. The second is to take our course, where years of experience are packaged into step-by-step training. Personally, I went the first way. I mean, I taught myself. Simply because there were no such courses as before.

I had to plow for a penny for several years. And, unfortunately, few people endure such a life. And if you would also like to shorten your path from "beginner" to "pro" - use our course as a springboard.

See you later!

Your Dmitry Novoselov

A translator can sit all his life in a small, stuffy office, translating pages of other people's documents for notarization, or he can help countries' leaders communicate at important negotiations. The specialist performs the most important function - he helps people communicate and understand each other.

Without them, we would never have read the works of foreign-language writers, we would not have watched foreign films, we would not have learned about what is happening outside our country as a whole. But far from every employee's work is appreciated – only 15% of translators are satisfied with their salaries. Is it worth dedicating your life to this profession? Where to study as a translator, what to be prepared for and how to build a career? Let's talk in detail.

History of the profession

Profession, albeit not in modern form has existed since ancient times. Then representatives of different peoples spoke one more language, in addition to their native language. Key Function these "specialists" was the translation of speech and written messages. Usually translators were used in negotiations or when announcing the will of a foreign-speaking ruler of a certain territory. Often these were people captured during wars. IN ancient Rus' translators were called interpreters. Presumably, their role was determined at the time of the beginning of the dialogue between the Russian principalities and the Turkic tribes.

The significance of the interpreters was strengthened during the time of the vassal dependence of the Russian principalities on the Golden Horde - the collection of tribute and governorship required knowledge of the Turkic language. In this regard, the position becomes official, and many translators go to the service of a prince or khan.

Who is a translator and what is his responsibility

A translator is a person who translates an oral or written text into another language. A professional who simply knows a foreign language is distinguished by the absence of the right to make a mistake and the ability to correctly present information (correspond to the speed of the speaker's speech, avoid long pauses, and so on). Remember the dozens of incidents that occurred in the negotiations of the same politicians due to the mistakes of translators. The same "overload" in relations between Russia and the United States (instead of "reset").

Key responsibilities of a specialist:

Translation of scientific and fiction, press, patent descriptions, specialized documents and other materials.
Performing translations of oral and written texts ensuring their full compliance with the semantic, lexical and stylistic content of the original.
Editing translations of other specialists.
Preparation of documentation and all kinds of texts in a foreign language in accordance with officially accepted standards.
Scientific work on the unification of terms and the improvement of translation technologies.

The scope of duties may expand or narrow depending on the qualifications of the employee, his experience and place of work. But the requirements for skills remain unchanged: a professional must not only be fluent in the language, but also observe job descriptions. For example, to have a well-delivered speech, an excellent memory for simultaneous translation, high speed print and so on.

It is necessary to constantly develop - each language lives and changes, new slang words, new trends appear in it.

If a specialist does not improve his skills, then in 1-2 years of “idle” he may completely lose his skills.

Where can a specialist work?

Translation agency. At least 50% of university graduates work in specialized bureaus that provide oral and written translations from foreign languages. Customers of the organization can be individuals and legal entities, institutions and government structures. Bureaus mainly perform written translations - these are documents (in particular, preparing for a notarial statement), academic work, books and magazines, letters, articles and much more.

Private organizations. Here, specialists work for many customers, but in the interests of one company. Only 1-2% of organizations can afford to maintain a staff of translators - usually 1-2 people who perform a wide range of tasks. They go to negotiations, translate business correspondence, technical literature and documentation, prepare appeals and papers for negotiations with foreign partners or customers, provide information support to clients from foreign countries.

State structures. Specialists work in public institutions or collaborate with them on individual projects. Example: the regional administration is building partnerships with investors, say, from the Czech Republic. They need translators with knowledge of the Czech language on a permanent basis, as the workload is large and the workload is regular. Another example: from the same Czech Republic, a delegation of, say, athletes comes to the region to participate in some event. In this case, a translator with knowledge of the Czech language will be required for a one-time, project work.

Publishers and studios. Thousands of books, films, series and song lyrics are translated every year. Work in publishing houses, film studios, production centers and similar companies requires knowledge of the specifics of the literary language and modern slang from a specialist. Surely you have noticed how the quality of translation varies, for example, of the same series in different studios. It's about not about voice acting, but about vocabulary. Here, not only the clarity of the content depends on the translator, but also the pleasure received by the listener, viewer, reader from the oral or written text.

Freelance. According to unofficial statistics, at least 10% of the total number of graduates educational institutions in Russia they constantly work in freelance mode. They find regular customers, collaborate on projects with organizations and institutions, or look for work on popular freelance exchanges. The key advantage of this regime is absolute freedom, the ability to independently build a schedule and regulate income. The main disadvantage is the absence of any guarantees, in particular stable payment and fulfillment by the customer of the terms of the contract.

Where to study to be a translator? TOP-5 universities

The best choice would be a linguistic (language) university. You can start your education in college and eventually continue it by enrolling in a university on an accelerated program.

Diploma of higher education gives preferences in employment, being an indicator of the quality of training.

However, the key argument in your favor for the employer is work experience and qualifications. You will have to raise it throughout your career. And the better the knowledge gained during the training, the better. Therefore, it is worth trying to enter the best university available to you.

TOP-5 linguistic universities in Russia:

Moscow State University Lomonosov.
St. Petersburg State University.
MGIMO.
Moscow Linguistic University.
Russian State University. Kosygin.

The choice of a university is an important stage in a translator's career, but not a decisive one.

Graduates of provincial educational institutions, far from the top of the rankings, can build a successful career. But in the course of self-training, they will have to do much more than students of elite universities. Moreover, you will not get the most valuable connections that graduates of prestigious universities “acquire” during their studies and which help them with employment.

An excellent solution would be admission to master's programs in foreign universities. This opportunity is worth taking advantage of not only for bachelors who want to emigrate, but also for graduates who want to succeed in a career as a translator. The opportunity to study a language in depth for several years in a country where it is official is an invaluable experience. It will help you reach the top and become an important item on your resume. You can also start: approve scholarships and grants from foreign universities that offer, in fairness, free education. The procedure for admission and registration of documents is quite complicated, but it's worth it.

What qualities do you need to have

Excellent memory. One of the basic requirements for in-depth study of any language. If you are forgetful, then you should be ready to put a lot of effort into developing memory.
Logical thinking. It is not enough to remember individual words and phrases - it is necessary to understand its logic, features of vocabulary and word formation. Developed logical thinking will become the basis for understanding grammar, slang expressions.
perseverance. The work of a translator can hardly be called exciting - usually it is associated with many hours of sedentary work behind piles of foreign texts.
Stress resistance. It is especially important for simultaneous translations, when you are under constant tension, trying to synchronize your speech with the speaker's speech.
Attentiveness. Each mistake can lead to the distortion of huge blocks of text. History knows a lot of examples of breakdowns in negotiations or, say, unsuccessful film rentals due to inaccuracies in translations.

The relevance of the profession of a translator and its prospects

Key confrontations are unfolding in the IT fields. Many experts say that in the near future, trained artificial intelligence will be able to completely replace a live translator. However, the developers themselves are cautious about such prospects. Most of them speak of such a possibility as a rather distant reality.

According to analytical data, in the next 20-30 years, machines will not be able to replace the work of translators even by 15%. At the same time, the specialists themselves are happy to use new developments, professional software - it really helps in their work. If you liked the presentation of the profession at the Open Day at the university or if you lower grades write an essay on the topic: “My future profession is a translator”, then you can safely follow your dream.

Pros and cons of the profession of a translator

This specialty is suitable for people who love complex, stressful, orderly work. There are no risks, threats to life and health. It is difficult for a translator to get physically injured at work. But to shake the psyche and bring yourself to hysteria as a result of constant stress and the burden of responsibility is quite real.

pros profession translator:

Relevance of the specialty . This is a sought-after profession, and even university graduates, as a rule, do not encounter a lack of vacancies. The only exceptions are rare, in particular endangered languages.
Plenty of job opportunities . You can work in an ordinary translation agency, in private companies and government agencies, you can translate books, films and series, you can accompany tourists or even stay freelance.
Career prospects . All in your hands! If you are constantly developing, continue to learn the language throughout your life, do not “pickle” yourself in one job and are not afraid of change, you have every chance of succeeding.
Fairly high salaries . They cannot be compared with the income of top managers in oil companies, but compared to the national average they are high. Moreover, with experience and advanced training, you will be able to qualify for a salary increase.
A real opportunity to emigrate . Translators especially often use special programs, graduate from master's programs abroad, receive grants and scholarships from foreign universities, as they are fluent in the language and successfully pass tests.

Minuses profession translator:

Complex and responsible work . Most specialists are in constant tension, feel the burden of responsibility and often suffer from stress.
The need for continuous development . Only 1-2 years without practice (for example, during maternity leave) and you "fall out" of the profession. The language is changing very quickly and you have to constantly improve your skills.
monotonous labor . Wherever you work, you will constantly deal with large volumes of text - written or oral. There are no surprises to be expected.
Low salary at the start of a career . University graduates, even with 1-2 years of work experience, can rarely get a well-paid job.

If you love languages, if you are ready to dedicate your life to establishing communication and linguistic connection between people, this profession is for you. If you want something more dynamic and exciting, and you go to a linguistic university only because of the prospect of a high salary, you will hate your job with all your heart. Before admission, we recommend that you analyze all the pros and cons in advance, and then make an informed choice.

How much do translators in Russia earn

According to analytical services, the average salary of a Russian translator is 34.7 thousand rubles. At the same time, there are significant differences between the average salaries in the regions. Most of all, specialists from Moscow (42 thousand rubles), St. Petersburg (38 thousand rubles) and Vladivostok (36 thousand rubles) receive. Salaries differ not only in regions, but also in organizations - the maximum in private companies, the minimum - in public institutions.

In the process of career growth, translators can count on a significant increase in wages. For 5 years of work, it is realistic to increase your income by 10-15 thousand rubles. Do not forget that the amount of wages depends on the relevance of the language. In some cases, specialists with knowledge of rare languages receive large fees, but usually cooperate with them only within the framework of individual projects. The highest earners are translators who specialize in English, German, French and Arabic.

On the one hand, in the global world, the profession of a translator is in high demand. But at the same time, why learn another language if there is a universal English that everyone tries to speak one way or another? Thirdly, competition in the profession is very high, and machine translation technologies are actively developing. T&P learned from five young translators what it is like to constantly be an intermediary between different cultures and how one more linguistic subpersonality helps in life, as well as about the joys of a successful formulation and the social significance of their case.

Anastasia Pozgoreva

translator from English

“You don’t just translate, but recreate the author’s text in another language”

In working with English, I tried a lot of different formats and topics, and eventually found my niche - I specialize in reverse translation. Of course, I also translate from English, the professional tradition has developed in such a way that usually a person translates into his native language, but any skill can be developed with practice. A huge bonus of working with the most common language in the world is the ability to choose any topic. I would never undertake to translate something medical, but I am happy to work with the museum and exhibition complex "Institute of Russian Realistic Art", I translate exhibition catalogs and captions for exhibits for them, because it is very close to me.

I don't think the machine will ever replace the human in translation. On the other hand, now there is practically no market for interpreting from English. Most of all I liked to translate at negotiations and meetings, but the demand for this is now almost gone. Most likely, now a large employer will simply not hire employees who do not speak the language. It is good to know the language as an addition to some other profession. I also had to retrain along the way and do more management, marketing and online sales. I'm coordinating the translation service for a global company: a large organization needs marketing materials in 35 languages. As a translator, I work on recommendations, I have never had to look for a job.

Recently, people around have become noticeably better in English, but this is more of an achievement state system education, but the Internet and the ability to travel. English is still relatively easy. I now feel quite confident in any work with English, although I am not a native speaker. The difficulty for a non-native speaker is mainly articles and commas, in the correct use of which we can never be one hundred percent sure. These nuances are best asked to proofread by a native editor.

The people I've met in the English translation industry tend to be much older than me, in their mid-40s, who have dedicated their entire lives to this work and are probably not ready to change anything. Very young people work with translations for about a year, and then they want to move to another area. After all, translation is a fairly monotonous job that requires perseverance. The pace of life has accelerated: people want for a short time learn as much as possible, and not focus on one task.

Not everyone is able to work as a simultaneous interpreter from English - even if they have the appropriate education. It requires special personal and cognitive qualities. I sometimes do synchro for fun, but it would be very difficult for me to do this as my main activity.

The specificity of translation from Russian into English for me is that a lot of cultural and other realities have to be given in transliteration or descriptively. When translating, the most important skill is to have a good sense of style and transcreation (transcreation = creative translation). For example, once the “minibus driver” in the context had to be translated as “kamikaze driver”. Transcreation requires a lot of time and effort: you cannot translate directly, you need to comprehend the text all the time and redo something. But as a result of the work, the feeling of belonging is especially dear to me. You feel like a colleague of the person who wrote the book. After all, you do not just translate, but recreate the author's text in another language.

Customers very often do not understand how much time it takes to translate. According to the conventional norm, one page, 1,800 characters, is translated per hour. But if a translator approaches his work responsibly, he will definitely understand the terminology, proofread and edit. With this approach, it is difficult to comply with the temporary norm. And they often do not understand that translation is, in principle, difficult. Just think: I took it, translated it, especially from English. In general, long-term communication in any foreign language is a big load on the brain, you get tired physically and mentally from this.

Sonya Grigorieva

German translator

"In another language, you're just a different person"

I studied international journalism at MGIMO and just last year I graduated from the master's program. In my last year of undergraduate studies, I started translating from German and into German in the theater. 2012 was the Year of Germany in Russia, when I worked at the New European Theater (NET) festival, which was entirely dedicated to Germany. It was so cool that I started thinking about it as a possible future professional activity. Since then, I have been working as a translator - mainly in the theater. It can be tours, when German troupes come, for example, to the Chekhov Festival. Or joint productions, say, at the Bolshoi Theater, when a German soloist, set designer or conductor arrives. Less often I work with dramatic performances, but this is very interesting, I was lucky to translate in Praktika and at the laboratory of the Moscow Art Theater. Chekhov and the Goethe Institute. I also translate all sorts of normal things that are not related to the theater, and I work on cultural projects at the Goethe Institute.

In general, if you want or need to work hard, this is not a problem, there are a lot of opportunities. The main thing is to understand what exactly you want to do, to develop your own structure. My situation seems perfect to me. Perhaps this is because I have not been in translation for 10 years yet - I do not feel tired of the monotony. In fact, this work is very diverse both in content and in rhythm. There is a day when you work 10 hours in a row: you are the only translator and you are tired. And the next day, only a couple of technical moments can fall out.

As you know, at MGIMO you learn the language you were assigned to (since the institute is connected with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, which needs specialists in all languages). I don’t even remember exactly what I indicated when I entered, but I got German. I accepted this choice, and everything worked out very well with him. It is said that when you learn another language to a certain extent, it is like gaining another soul. I think this is absolutely true. I have seen this many times with friends. In another language, you're just a different person.

I feel very comfortable in Germany and in the German environment. I am glad that no one can ever determine what my accent is, which means that I am not perceived as some kind of alien element. When I work with Germans here in Russia, I also cannot say that I see in them representatives of some completely different culture. Yes, they always turn off the lights when they leave the room, they try not to use plastic bags, they say that it's too warm here and we don't save electricity at all, but these are rather trifles.

Translation translation strife, it all depends on the situation. I translated at the Golden Mask award ceremony, when you need to go on the stage of the Bolshoi Theater or the Stanislavsky Theater and translate in front of a large audience. This is a completely different feeling of yourself and language than when you translate the same important people, but within the framework of armchair negotiations.

It is very difficult to translate on the move without preparation, but it happens. Once I translated almost impromptu to lectures at the Museum of Military Uniforms. Usually there is an opportunity to prepare, to look at the terminology and special vocabulary in advance. And here, with the lecturer and the audience, we practically played the game “guess the word from the description”, I translated the details of the military uniform descriptively, and they told me correct names. A special case is when it is necessary to translate director's comments during rehearsals. Here it is important to very accurately convey often very complex philosophical concepts so that the intent and interpretation are clear. Recently at the Bolshoi there was Shostakovich's opera Katerina Izmailova, staged by Rimas Tuminas, and the German soloist had to translate about "consciousness". In German, this is a more complex concept associated with "conscience" ("Bewußtsein"), and such abstract phenomena are more difficult to convey than technical points.

Most of the actors and directors I work with speak English, but at a level that is sufficient for basic everyday communication. For real workflow and rehearsals, a translator is needed. On the one hand, this is an additional intermediate link in communication, on the other hand, it is a guarantee of a more complete understanding, and the interpreter must feel when to leave the conversation, and when, on the contrary, to help and explain.

It seems to me that one should not exaggerate the omnipotence of English at all. IN professional field there always comes a moment when a person must speak in his native language in order to say exactly what he wants. Besides, I had interesting experience working with young actors: it would seem that people of our generation who should know English fluently, because all the films and TV shows around broadcast this linguistic reality anyway. But the time when it was possible to study the language, they completely spent on their careers, so at the age of 25-26 they cannot work freely with English, translation is still necessary. If I had another life, I would probably try to do something of my own in the theater. This is probably why so many critics at some point try themselves as creators in their area of interest, but often turn out to be so-so. So while I really enjoy watching this world, the theatrical environment is incredibly enriching and developing.

Denis Viren

Polish translator

“We have a lot more in common with the Poles than it might seem”

With the translation and the Polish language, everything happened quite by accident. I studied at VGIK as a film critic and thought that I would use Polish in my studies, and then I worked as a translator at the Moscow Film Festival a couple of times and after that I began to take on a variety of orders.

When I first learned Polish, I had the feeling that it was a rare language (for example, Polish has such a status in publishing houses). But over time, I discovered that this is rather a misconception. Firstly, quite a lot of people learn Polish just for themselves. Secondly, it turned out that there are quite a lot of translators from Polish, and for them, in turn, there is quite a high demand. It would seem, who needs the Polish language? Many Poles of the older and middle generation still know Russian, and if they do business with Russia, then, as a rule, they all the more speak Russian. Young people, most likely, know English, and they do not need an interpreter from Polish. It turned out that this is not the case and the translation is really needed. I know more about the sphere of culture, where major events are regularly held. For example, the theater festival of children's performances "Gavrosh", where Poland was the main guest last year. So it's hard to talk about competition in my business. In fact, there are a lot of niches, and everyone can find their own.

We have much more in common with the Poles than it might seem. Poland positions itself as a country that tends more towards the West. This is certainly true, but at the same time, the geographical and historical aspects still make themselves felt, you can’t get away from this. Poland is somewhere between East and West, and this is one of the main reasons for its specificity and the fact that it is a very interesting country from many points of view, including cultural. At recent business negotiations I drew attention to the difference between the Polish and Russian mentality - to the fact that, for example, the Poles who are engaged in business are very specific people. This is very felt in their manner of speech: they know what they want to say. Our businessmen have more confusion, chaos, so a conversation is often a kind of stream of consciousness. I think this is due to the fact that the thought process continues during speaking, and Poles are more likely to think everything through in advance.

I often hear fears that because of English as the language of international communication, local languages like Polish will not be in demand. But practice shows the opposite. It often happens that people who even know English well say: “No, I want to speak my native language. Why, if there is an interpreter from my native language, will I express my thoughts not as fully and not as vividly as I could?

A translator is always more than just a translating machine from one language to another. The human factor is very important here. There is a very special bond with the one you translate, especially when you work together for a long time. On the other hand, the human factor can complicate the work. Here, customers have a strange idea of translators as people who, firstly, must be available all the time, and secondly, they love their languages so much that they can work simply because it pleases them. I can still understand the first point: apparently, these are the costs of the profession. The second point seems to me completely wrong, and, according to my feelings, this state of affairs has begun to change a little. There is respect and understanding that it is hard work, sometimes physically difficult.

Roman Bondarenko

Japanese translator

“In Russian everyday life, I don’t encounter my Japanese subpersonality”

I really liked the sound of the word "arigato", and I decided to learn Japanese. I studied at ISAA at the Department of History and Culture of Japan, so I was supposed to study the language and translation technique in full. It was quite tough training and very useful.

In 2014, I got a job as an interpreter at Baikonur. It so happened that to launch the Japanese satellite, they were looking for trilingual translators with Russian, English and Japanese. Our department issued a certain list of specialists, where I went after the teachers, but at that moment they all left to work for the Olympics in Sochi. Now I'm still working with French and getting my Spanish up to working order, so I don't even know what I should be called. Quintiling, probably. I feel that knowing Japanese in itself commands respect. For some reason, people think that learning Japanese is very difficult.

Part of the Japanese picture of the world was very clearly explained to me at the institute, and part I had the opportunity to experience for myself. As for the financial return from working as an interpreter, I will say that you need to know the places. There are many sites that are full of not even ads, but rather requirements like “we need an ideal specialist, already yesterday and for a thousand rubles a day.” It is simply unrealistic to work on such conditions, but, apparently, there are still people who need experience or really need money - this is the only way I can explain that such ads appear all the time.

A translator is a person who is designed to provide interaction between two parties, in fact, a live interface. I'm pretty sure it can be replaced with a mechanical one at some point in about 90% of the cases. A qualified translator is a guarantee that people will understand each other and they will not have to take into account the risk that a busy manager with knowledge of English does not understand a busy leader with knowledge of Japanese. This is an opportunity to delegate the guarantee of mutual understanding to the human interface.

In terms of interest, only my experience as an interpreter at a karate training camp in Russia can be compared with work at Baikonur. Shihan, a 9th dan master (higher than sensei) came. I have never practiced karate, and I wanted to understand an unfamiliar environment in a minimum amount of time, master the terminology and mimic one of them. I remember that at one of the training camps, one of the honored sensei from the Russian side approached me during a break and asked me not to shout. And we are in the gym where 200-300 people train at the same time, I translate the commands, and they must be pronounced loudly, including phrases like “So, hand over the black belts to me after training, I will take them to Japan and send you brown ones instead” (which means downgrading). I can not mumble such phrases! No, I convey the same emotion when translating. That's how I shouted, being in full right, at 300 people, who represent a formidable enough fighting force.

I heard the theory that with each language learned to a certain level, a separate linguistic subpersonality develops in a person, which bears the characteristics of the mentality of the people who speak this language. This may be due to grammatical structures, such as the dominance of verbs in Spanish. I have a strong enough Japanese sub-personality that when I speak Japanese, I am a completely different person. But in his Russian Everyday life I'm not particularly familiar with the Japanese subpersonality. There are some concepts of the Japanese worldview that are very attractive to me. For example, "ikigai". Approximately it can be translated as “the meaning of life”, but more precisely it is something like “goal”, “direction”, “path”. The Japanese think much less in abstract terms, they are much more specific. Therefore, haiku poetry is like a magnifying glass on a particular moment. In observation, the Japanese are very strong, in contrast to theorizing.

Alexandra Bibikova

Italian translator

"People often ask me: 'You know Italian so well, why don't you leave?'"

My choice of profession began with a rather vague desire to become either an interpreter or a writer. It's just that I've always been inspired by the fact that translation is needed to facilitate understanding between people. We often do not understand each other in the same language, and even more so in different languages. I studied at the philological faculty of Moscow State University and chose Italian simply because I fell in love with Italy, with the language and culture. I remember one of my first interpreting experiences: I helped an Italian director who came to Russia to make a film about icons. He was interested in the Savior Not Made by Hands, since in Italy this genre is much less common. It was both very interesting and difficult - a specific topic.

In the end, I realized that I like both oral and written translation, the most important thing is what to translate, the topic. For example, I am not very inspired by the routine work on documents or the negotiations of oilmen. I'm ready to take on something like this, but it's important to me social significance my work. For example, now the help of an interpreter is often required for paperwork for adoption or for medical support.

I would say that the translator is absolutely thankless profession in the sense that those who can pay for the job usually don't see him as worthwhile. Often the customer wants to pay less or is not always respectful. So the translator is far from the most profitable and respected profession. But still, I can say that in Moscow many graduates work in one way or another by profession, in particular with the Italian language. And here, as in many other places, it is important to be quick, to be able to get into the professional environment, the very skill of communication and the ability to make acquaintances and keep in touch are important. In the work itself, it is very important to understand the life realities of the country whose language you are studying.

People often ask me: “You know Italian so well, why don’t you leave?” In sunny, carefree, friendly Italy, it is now very difficult to find work for both Italians and visitors. So it seems to me that working with the Italian language professionally in Russia, in Moscow, is easier than there. There are a lot of pitfalls in Italian. You will never stop improving.

My job is a constant compromise between what I want to do and what I'm paid to do. It can be quite dreary, you have to sit at night with several orders at once. No matter how well you do your job, there are still dissatisfied customers, and something has to be redone, re-arranged. But if you are translating not only for money or praise, you will find a lot of inspiration and pleasure. There is always a challenge in the work of an interpreter. For me, it was such a challenge to translate Italian poetry. When my colleagues and I were working on a book of poems by Corrado Calabro, it was supposed that I would make an interlinear translation, and then the poet would process my material into poetry - in this way we would have such a joint translation. As a result, my interlineators were published as something that is closer to the author.

In translating poetry, the most difficult thing was to convey the realities of Italian life into Russian. For example, there was a poem called "A targhe alterne", and such a concept simply does not exist in Russian. Targhe alterne is such an Italian law, it is aimed at limiting the flow of cars in the city center. According to this law, on even days, you can enter the center only by car with even numbers, and vice versa. Of course, the Italians will find a way to get around almost any law, and almost every family has two cars: one with even numbers, the other with odd ones. Nevertheless, such a restriction exists, and it is well understood by any Italian. The poem ended with the phrase "our life is unfair, like targhe alterne". As a result, we translated the name as "Roulette" and gave a footnote with explanations.

On Russian market The profession of translator is gaining popularity. What is this work? What activities does it include?

Who should study in this specialty? What is wage specialist? Let's talk about everything in detail.

Professional translator - description and characteristics of the profession

Some people think that learning a foreign language is enough for a job. But this activity is not as simple as it seems at first glance. From professional qualities a specialist sometimes depends on the success of negotiations, the conclusion of an important deal.

Translation is oral and written. Written specialists translate texts, fiction and other works, documents.

Interpreting is divided into consecutive and simultaneous. Consecutive interpreting is often used in situations where the speaker is speaking to a large audience. In this case, he pauses after a certain phrase, and the translator reproduces what was said in another language. Consecutive translation is also often used in negotiations.

Simultaneous translation is different in that it is carried out during the speech of the speaker. It is much more complex and requires the following qualities:

mindfulness;
literacy;
good command of the language.

In this case, the interpreter usually sits in a special booth. The work requires a lot of mental stress, so specialists work in shifts of 20-30 minutes with an hour break.

Professions related to foreign languages

With knowledge of foreign languages, you can master other professions. Foreign languages open up many new possibilities.

Who do people with knowledge of foreign languages work:

teacher;
linguist;
guide translator;
literary translator;
decryptor.

Knowledge of a foreign language may be required not only in professions related to it. Sometimes Russian companies cooperate with foreign ones. Then knowledge of the language will be a plus for an employee of such a company.

How to become a good translator

To become the most the best specialist, you need to know many nuances of the profession. For this should study the works compiled by qualified professional translators. In them you can find a description of many mistakes that prevent talented people from moving on.

For example, the most common mistake is literal translation. The goal is to convey meaning. It is important to understand that each language has its own style and way of presentation. You need to feel the language.

To do this, you can try to put yourself in the place of the author and ask the following question: “How would he say this phrase if he spoke my language or the language into which I need to translate?”.

One more thing - you will not surprise anyone with the English language. Good specialist must know several foreign languages, preferably rare ones.

Universities of Russia with a specialty "Translation and translation studies"

The peculiarity of the profession is that translators are required in various areas and areas of life, for example, you can get the profession of a military translator. Therefore, the appropriate education is in the military, humanitarian, physics and mathematics, and in various other institutions.

Examples of Russian universities with this specialty:

Griboyedov Institute of International Law and Economics.
Moscow State University ways of communication.
Moscow International School of Translators.
Institute of Linguistics of the Moscow Power Engineering Institute.
Nevsky Institute of Language and Culture in St. Petersburg.
International Academy of Business and Management.
Far Eastern Institute of Foreign Languages.
Ural State Pedagogical University.

You can enter the first or second higher education. This The best way learn a profession.

University is almost the only way to get a profession. Colleges do not train translators. Translation courses are gaining popularity. However, it is better not to forget that a diploma can play an important role.

What exams do you need to take

To be eligible to become an interpreter, you must pass Russian language, as well as social science and a foreign language as additional subjects.

You can get a profession at the Faculty of Foreign Languages.

How many years to study as a translator

The time that will have to be spent on training depends on the choice of program. To study for a specialist is 5 years, for a bachelor - 4 years.

If you choose courses, then no one guarantees you either subsequent employment or the quality of knowledge. But the training period will be no more than 12 months.

Where can an interpreter work

The place of work of an interpreter depends on the direction of activity that he chooses. Most of the students already during their studies begin to earn money as written translations. This can be done without leaving home, via the Internet.

There are many platforms and online venues that require translators. True, you won’t earn much on this, but you can get the first skills.

After training, you can go into teaching, or get a job in a foreign company. The position of a personal assistant provides many opportunities for career advancement.

What is the salary of a translator in Moscow

Job pay varies. It all depends on the experience, professionalism, direction of activity, company.

Novice specialists will receive from 20,000 to 40,000 rubles per month.

With the acquisition of experience and professional qualities, new opportunities will open up. Over time, income can grow to 100,000-125,000 rubles.

Career growth and development prospects

Currently the international cooperation just developing. The growth of the economy, the expansion of sales of many firms have made the profession of a translator in demand. Many companies are willing to pay high wages to specialists.

True professionals in the labor market are worth their weight in gold. That's why career and development depends only on the willingness of the translator himself to grow and improve.

Is it worth studying to be a translator: the pros and cons of the profession

Pros of work:

Opportunity to work as a freelancer. In this case, the employee has freedom of action. You can build a schedule and work at your own discretion.
No income ceiling. If you go to work with foreign bureaus or foreign customers, you can significantly increase income.
There is always an opportunity to work or, as they say, "you won't be left without a job." Translators are needed all the time. But even if there is no way to get a job in any company, again, you can do freelancing.

Cons of work:

Great competition and difficulties at the start. It will be difficult for a beginner translator to find a job without experience.
Health problems. They usually occur with freelancers. If you constantly sit at the computer, your eyesight will decrease. There is also the possibility of curvature of the spine and problems with posture.
Low wages in Russia. Not everyone manages to reach the international level in work, and wages in Russian companies no one is happy.

It is worth studying to become an interpreter for those who truly love foreign languages, read books in the original, watch films, and travel often.

Translation is not just an activity. It is possible that this will become a lifestyle. It is important to love your future profession to get satisfaction.

Translator - general concept professionals involved in the translation of oral or writing from one language to another. The profession is suitable for those who are interested in foreign languages and Russian language and literature (see the choice of profession for interest in school subjects).

There are several explanations for where the different languages came from. For example, the Bible describes the legend about the Tower of Babel. According to this tradition, God confused the languages of the builders of the tower because of their desire to surpass him and excessive pride. People ceased to understand each other and dispersed around the globe without completing the construction of the tower, which was supposed to reach the heavens.

There is an explanation in the difference in the language of people and from a scientific point of view. Even in prehistoric times, people began to speak different languages due to disunity due to the mountains, deserts and oceans located between them. Languages were formed in different tribes in isolation, one tribe communicated little with others. The greater the degree of geographical isolation, the more distinct the language. On the plains, where it is easier to move around, individual languages occupy very large spaces (Russian, for example). But whatever the background, there has long been a need for people who know more than one native language.

Majority modern people knows not only his own language, but can also speak a foreign language to some extent. Tourism is actively developing, and with it there is a need to communicate with foreigners, to understand at least superficially the language of the country you are going to. Most often, the population studies English language which is increasingly taking the place of the universal language of international communication.

But for professional translation, competent, prompt and clear, people with special education and experience. Such specialists are called translators. In a general sense, translators are divided into oral and written.

An important quality of an interpreter is the ability to create an atmosphere of mutual understanding and partnership. The specialist must understand that the success of the ongoing negotiations largely depends on him. He must help find mutual language people with different cultures, mentality and understanding business in different ways.

There are two types interpreters- sequential and synchronous.

A consecutive interpreter is indispensable in business negotiations, at events where some of the participants speak one language, and some speak another. In such cases, the speaker makes his speech with small stops so that the interpreter can formulate the phrase in the language of the listeners.

Simultaneous translation- the most difficult type of translation. Such translation is carried out with the help of specialized equipment for simultaneous translation. A simultaneous interpreter must speak a foreign language almost better than his native language. The complexity of the profession lies in the need to quickly understand and translate what is heard, and sometimes speak at the same time as the speaker. The most valued are specialists who are able to build competent and informative sentences that do not allow pauses in their speech.

Translators can be engaged in the translation of technical, legal, fiction, business documents. Nowadays, more and more professionals are using modern technologies(For example, electronic dictionaries). Such a special software for translators will help increase its productivity by up to 40%.

Technical translators work with technical texts containing special scientific and technical information. Distinctive features such a translation are accuracy, impersonality and unemotionality. There are many terms of Greek or Latin origin in the texts. The grammar of technical translations is specific and contains well-established grammatical norms (for example, indefinitely personal and impersonal constructions, passive phrases, impersonal forms of the verb). The types of technical translation include full written translation (the main form of technical translation), abstract translation (the content of the translated text is compressed), abstract translation, translation of headings and oral technical translation (for example, for training employees to work with foreign equipment).

Legal translation aimed at translating specific texts related to the field of law. Such a translation is used to exchange professional information related to the socio-political and cultural characteristics of the country. In this regard, the language of legal translation should be extremely accurate, clear and reliable.

Legal translation can be divided into several types:

translation of laws, regulations and their drafts;
translation of agreements (contracts);
translation of legal opinions and memorandums;
translation of notarial certificates and apostilles (a special sign that certifies signatures, the authenticity of a stamp or seal);
translation constituent documents legal entities;
translation of powers of attorney.

Fiction translator- a specialist in the translation of literary texts. He must, in addition to a comprehensive knowledge of a foreign language, be well versed in literature, on high level own a word, be able to convey the style and style of the author of the translated work. There are many examples when recognized masters of the word (V. Zhukovsky, B. Pasternak, A. Akhmatova, S. Marshak, etc.) were engaged in translations. Their translations are works of art in themselves.

Required professional skills and knowledge

perfect command of one or more foreign languages;
competent Russian;
good knowledge of technical terminology, both in the source language and in the target language (especially important for technical translators);
deep knowledge of literature and literary editing skills (for translators of fiction);
knowledge of the characteristics of language groups;
the desire to improve knowledge of a foreign language every day.

Personal qualities

linguistic abilities;
high level of analytical thinking;
the ability to store a large amount of information;
accuracy, patience, attentiveness;
high level of erudition;
fast reaction;
the ability to concentrate, to be attentive;
sociability;
verbal abilities (the ability to coherently and extremely clearly express one's thoughts, a rich vocabulary, well-delivered speech);
high efficiency;
courtesy, tact.

Pros and cons of the profession

Pros:

the possibility of implementation in different areas (written translation, simultaneous interpreter, translation of films, books, magazines, etc.);
a person who speaks a foreign language can find a very prestigious and highly paid job;
there is an opportunity to communicate with people of different countries and cultures;
high probability of business trips and travel.

Minuses

in different months, the volume of transfers can vary several times, hence the unstable download;
often translators are paid not upon delivery of the material, but when payment comes from the customer.

Place of work

press centers, radio and television centers;
international funds;
travel companies;
ministries of foreign affairs, consulates;
book publishers, mass media;
translation agency;
museums and libraries;
hotel business;
international firms, companies;
international associations and associations;
international funds.